Boehly dispels Tuchel sack myth after revealing real reason Chelsea cut ties; takes stand on European Super League

Todd Boehly has dismissed the notion the chastening 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb had anything to do with Thomas Tuchel’s sacking, instead revealing what really sparked the decision.

Tuchel’s reign as Chelsea boss concluded at the 100-game mark last Wednesday. The Blues moved quickly to appoint his successor, paying £22m to bring Graham Potter and five of his backroom staff over from Brighton less than 36 hours later.

Potter hinted at the changes he’ll make to a new-look Chelsea in his first official press conference as Chelsea manager on Tuesday.

However, before Chelsea can fully move on, the book on Tuchel must first be closed.

To do just that, part-owner, Todd Boehly, broke his silence on the dismissal while speaking in America.

Boehly attended the SALT networking conference in New York and offered insight as to why Tuchel was axed.

The American claimed on-field results did not play a part, including the 1-0 defeat in Croatia.

Instead, a difference of outlooks for the future of the club was at the heart of the matter.

Tuchel sacking right decision for Chelsea – Boehly

Boehly said (via Football London): “When you take over any business, you have to make sure you’re aligned with the people who are operating the business.

“[Thomas] Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who had great success at Chelsea. Our vision for the club was to find a manager who really wanted to collaborate with us, a coach who really wanted to collaborate.

“There are a lot of walls to break down at Chelsea. Before [we arrived], the first team and academy didn’t really share data, didn’t share information about where the top players were coming from.

“Our goal is to bring a team together; all of that needs to be a well-oiled machine.

“The reality of our decision was that we weren’t sure that Thomas saw it the same way we saw it.

“No one is right or wrong, we just didn’t have a shared vision for the future. It wasn’t about Zagreb, it was about the shared vision for what we wanted Chelsea to look like.

“[It] wasn’t a decision that was made because of a single win or loss. It was a decision that we thought was the right vision for the club.”

Boehly on European Super League

Boehly was also asked about the possibility of the failed European Super League being resurrected.

Chelsea were among the founding members when the brazen plans came to light in 2021. However, fierce fan backlash played a part in scuppering the breakaway competition before it ever got off the ground.

The ESL idea emerged while the previous Roman Abramovich regime controlled the club. However, while Boehly stressed he’ll never say no outright, he admitted a revived ESL is not in Chelsea’s thinking right now.

“I think the Champions League has a big component of that already,” continued Boehly. “You have the best clubs playing each other every season.

“There’s already a lot of that. If you win the Champions League, you win over €100m. You win the Masters and make a couple of million bucks.

“I think you can do that in the summer [play Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich] more often, and there are other ways to do that.

“I think that the passion the fans have for the sport as it is, is so strong then I can’t envisage that changing.”

He concluded: “I never say hard no’s, I like to keep options alive, but it is not something that we are talking about at all.”